A Glance Back
by Shymagical
Summary: A story from early on in Kabuto. Tendou follows his newest acquaintance.


Kagami stepped on a can, wincing as it crinkled loudly under his foot

Kagami stepped on a can, wincing as it crinkled loudly under his foot. Darting jerkily into a nearby alleyway just as the man he'd been tailing turned to look for the source of the noise.

Tendou sighed from his perch on the overpass. So far, Kagami had nearly lost sight of his target two times, got chased for a bit by a small dog and had been so obviously following the probable Worm that it was unlikely his target _didn't_ know he was being tailed.

Tendou knew this because he'd been tailing Kagami for the past two hours. He'd been watching him long enough to be pretty confident about the observation that stealth really wasn't Kagami's strength. Tendou was half tempted to walk down there and tell him to just go home. It was best to confront a Worm directly. It seemed pretty inefficient use of man hours to spy on people. Perhaps ZECT was very zealous of protecting its organization. Tendou could understand that. He could think of several ways to find the mysterious group's location.

The only thing needed to infiltrate it was to know one member.

Tendou watched as Kagami snatched up a stray newspaper to hide behind as he sat several feet from the target. The target seemed to be about to enjoy an ala carte lunch. Sighing again, Tendou started walking. Best to take the chance to change his own position before he lost _them._ Sliding his hands into his pockets, he mused about the first time they met.

His grandmother had once told him an old saying. "If you meet a person three times in one day, your destinies are intertwined." She had said it in passing, but like everything his grandmother ever said, Tendou never forgot it.

Leaning against the building across from where the current subject of his thoughts sat, he pondered the mystery of Kagami Arata.

Even if the saying did have some merit…just what could such a person contribute to the destiny of Tendou Souji? He was all the things Tendou had trained himself not to be. He was brash, loud, was bad at concealing his emotions…

And probably one of the more interesting people Tendou had met in a long while. Not that he'd allowed himself to interact with many other people in more than a shallow level. The Path of Heaven was a hard road, but he'd known from the day his world ended that he'd given his past away to capture a new future for himself. For Hiyori. The fact that he was now associated with a person who wore the proverbial heart on his sleeve…well, there were worse things in life. Watching his reactions was _fascinating._ It was never boring when Kagami was around. For Tendou who had trained himself to judge people so well that he could easily predict what they'd do next, meeting someone who reacted erratically was…just_ interesting_.

Crossing his arms, he watched as Kagami peeked over his newsprint camouflage at the man currently enjoying a bowl of noodles. Tendou sighed again. From the looks of it, the little game of cat and mouse was going to last through dinner.

Missing meals had always been blasphemy in the Tendou household. The idea that he might not be home to greet Jyuka was equally disgruntling. It was tempting to just leave Kagami alone with the target. Surely a ZECT agent could handle watching a human-mimicking Worm. It's not like it would risk revealing its true form out in public.

And yet, Tendou still found himself following as they started moving again; this time towards a rougher part of the city. Frowning, he wondered just what Kagami was thinking. It was obvious the Worm now knew he was being followed and was attempting to guide him into a deeper, darker place. There might even be a few of its allies waiting to make use of Kagami's form.

That was unacceptable. For now, Kagami was his link to ZECT. Tendou had no desire to interact with the suspicious organization directly just yet. Kagami might be so low on the chain of command that he only knew the most base of information…

…But he was a good person. Weak, sometimes irrational…and naïve about a lot of things…but…Tendou felt the one thing he could predict about him was that he'd attempt to do the honest thing. Even though it was the very opposite of what ZECT wanted.

There was a crash up ahead as Kagami went flying backwards into a collection of trashcans. The person he'd been tailing shifted his form. The target had been a Worm after all. Tendou watched as the monster advanced upon the fallen man, only to shriek in surprise as Kagami threw a handful of something rotten looking at its face. As it clawed at its face, Kagami flung a trashcan lid at it, causing it to lose its balance and slip on the matter it had managed to scrape off its eyes.

Tendou smirked. Perhaps he had potential after all.

But Kagami's victory was short-lived, as three more Salis worms emerged from the shadows. Tendou tried not to be amused at the ridiculous image of Kagami lifting up another trashcan defensively, completely boxed in by the creatures.

As Kabuto Zector zoomed in a protective circle around Kagami, scattering the Worm in various directions, Tendou stepped forward. At any rate, he couldn't afford to be distracted. Kagami was just another person; a not so faceless individual that was his obligation to save, because he was the man who walked the Path of Heaven. He would quell any sort of naïve affections now. Any distractions from his ultimate goal could only serve to take away everything he'd worked so hard for. Catching his Zector as it flew instinctively to his hand Tendou smirked at the creatures whose attention he'd just captured.

"Henshin." Tendou connected the Zector to his belt, armor appearing and attaching to his body. Pausing when the transformation was complete, he found himself looking toward Kagami. A little irritated with himself at that small betrayal of his body, for that acknowledgement of the man, he quickly went to work dispatching the Worm. He knew Kagami was uninjured, why did he bother doing something as distracted as looking at him? A few minutes later, seconds to Kagami, he was done.

Watching Kagami wander about from his new position on the roof of a building (the battle had led him up there) he watched half interested as Kabuto Zector zoomed off for areas unknown. Looking back down, he knew it was best he just leave. One of the big vehicles usually used to carry ZECT members was already arriving. Tendou watched as a black-suited woman ran up to Kagami, concerned but keeping a distance due to the trash smell. Kagami brushed various bits of trash from his jacket as he looked around for something. Probably wondering where Kabuto had gotten off to.

Frowning a bit, Tendou leaned against the railing as he watched other people in suits walk around the alley. Not that there was anything left for them to do. They should really leave the defeat of worms to those best qualified. Such an organization's influence could come in handy later though. If so, Tendou would use and manipulate it as much as he could. For the sake of his goals, he couldn't allow any resource to go unused.

No matter how interesting it was.

He blinked in surprised as he suddenly met Kagami's gaze. For a moment, the other man gaped at him then quickly looked away, most likely not wanting to alert the two people standing next to him. Tendou shifted back and started walking toward the staircase. It was strange that Kagami would bother protecting his identity. His actions only proved to Tendou that ZECT had reservations for an outsider to have control of "their" technology. The more he heard of ZECT the less he liked. He would need to be careful soon. It was likely they'd go so far as to target things precious to him. The thought made him pause and glance backwards.

Frowning a bit, he continued walking. The type of relationship Kagami wanted was not something he could entertain. It was…not needed. Kagami was too vulnerable to be any sort of asset. He didn't need another burden on his shoulders. Kagami would just have to learn to take care of himself.

He had potential, after all.


End file.
